Power take-off for rolling stock



Oct. 1941- c. L. MOORMAN 2,260,633

POWER TAKE-OFF FOR ROLLING STOCK Filed Nov. 2, 1938 g Cfiazles L. Moorman INVENTQR.

H15 ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 28, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POWER TAKE-OFF FOR- ROLLING STOCK Charles L. Moorman, Blue Island, Ill. I

Application November 2, 1938, Serial No. 238,305 8 Claims. (01. 14-13) This invention pertains to improvements in air circulating means for refrigerator cars and has as its principal object a provision of air circulating mechanism especially suited for use in refrigerator cars, power for the operation of which is derived from the wheel structure of the car.

Another object is the provision of an improved power plant for the air circulating means and which derives its driving energy from the wheels of the car.

Another object is an improved power take-off device suitable for general application to railroad cars and analogous rolling stock.

A further object is the provision of manual control means for engaging and disengaging the power take-oil with the wheel structure ofa car.

Another object is the provision of sealing means for use with the manual control for preventing unauthorized operation of the latter.

Still another and more particular object is the provision of a blower for circulating air in a refrigerated car, an electric motor driving the blower, and acompact power plant including a generator and friction drive means for engagement with a wheel of the car to generate energy for the blower motor.

Yet another'and more particular object of the invention is the provision of an improved power take-off structure for use with rolling stock and including a pivoted bracket arrangement mounted for movement toward and away from a wheel of the car, a friction drive journaled on the bracket for driving engagement with the car wheel, and an energy converter also mounted on the bracket and driven by the friction wheel.

Other objects, advantages, and economies peculiar to the invention will appear as the following description proceeds in view of the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a refrigerator car;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of a refrigerator car with a sectional view into the ice bunker;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail of the power plant or take-oil structure;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective detailof the manual control lever and sealing means therefor; while 4 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modifled form of take-off or power plant structure.

This invention is in part a continuation of the disclosure of my copending U. S. application, Serial No. 190,202, filed February 12, 1938, for improvements in Circulating means for rolling stock.

In the illustrative embodiment, the invention has been applied to a'railroad refrigerator car of well-known construction and which includes the provision (Fig. 2) at opposite ends of the car of ice bunkers N which are filled with ice of varying degrees of coarseness adequate to permit the passage of air therethrough in a direction from an intake duct or grate, situated at the bottom of the bunker, up and around the pieces of ice and through an exit opening H at the top of the bunker, the ice being loaded into the bunkers through the usual hatches.

Circulation of the air in the manner aforesaid is effected in the present arrangement by the provision of a blower or fan I2 suitably mounted in the upper portion of the bunker relative to the exhaust opening ll so as to effect movement of the circulated air in a proper direction as indicated by the tracer arrows in Fig. 2.

The fan or blower I2 is preferably of the unidirectional type described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 238,304, filed November 2, 1938, and is provided with a drive shaft l3 extending from a fan through the nearer end of the car for driving connection with a driving means such as the electric motor 14 mounted on the end of the car outside of the ice bunker.

Means for energizing the motor includes the provision of a bracket structure of the type shown in Fig. 3 and comprising a pair of bracket arms l6 and I! mounted at one end on a form of pintle I8 which extends through a tubular collar I9 and is secured at its extremities in a pair of attaching arms 20 and 2| (Figs. 1 and 2 also) which in turn are rigidly attached to the underneath of the car opposite one of the wheels there of and which constitute a form of trunnion for the bracket members l6-l'l. The tubular sleeve I9 is keyed or rigidly secured at its ends. to the arms l8 and I! in any suitable manner, as by welding or the like, and is provided with a laterally projecting arm 22 having a boss or recess 23 which provides a seat for one end of a heavy coil spring 24 having an opposite end seated on a similar boss or seating means 25 on a flange 26 projected from the arm 2|, the spring 24 therefore being effective to urge the bracket arms l6 and I1 in an anti-clockwise direction (Figs. 2 and 3) so as to project the opposite free end portions of the bracket arms toward one of the wheels 21 of the car.

Means for locking the control lever 3| in its various positions includes the provision of a depending bracket 38 (Fig. 4) suitably secured to the under side of the car near the handle portion 34 and provided with offset slots 31 and 38, the latter of which is longer than the former in an up and down direction so that the lever arm Il may move up and down a greater distance in the slot 30 than in the slot 31, the two slots communicating so that the outer end portion of the lever near the handle 34 may be moved into alignment with one or the other of the same, there being a nose 3! separating the wherein the bracket arms open side of the longer slot, with the result that the lever arm Cii may be locked in the shorter slot (in a position opposite to that illustrated in Fig. 4), with its inner end in raised position,

Inthe arrangements of both Figs. t and .5,

' the driven or friction wheels 59 and 50, respecso that the inner arms it and ill are raised.

The arm Si is arranged so that it iii-permitted an amount of lateral play sufiicient to afford easy movement thereof back and forth between the slots. 3 M

Means for preventing the unauthorized manipulation of the control lever iii-36 includes an elongated stopping pin 4 3d (Fig. 1) having a ,headed portion ill at its upper end and a transi verse aperturestlfi near itslowerend, the pin fitting into aligned openings in cars it on the verticalportion of the bracket 38, the ears being so positioned relative to the common juncture of the slots 3! and 38 that, when the pin 40 is inserted in the aligned openings and assumes the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, lateral movement of the lever 3| from one slot to the other will be blocked. The stopping pin 40 may be sealed when the control lever has been moved into one or the other of its positions, a seal wire 44 being passed through the opening 42 at the lower end of the stopping rod and the ends oi the sealing wire being secured together by the usual lead or like signet 45, which is applied by the trainmen.

50, having a beveled peripheral portion Si, is

mounted on a shaft 52 journaled in the free.

end portions of the arms 16 and H, the wheel being spaced by suitable collars 53, and the transit. The opposite end of the shaft ,52 ex-' tends into driving engagement with the'armature of an energy converter in the nature of a generator 55 which is firmly secured to the bracket structure by a webbed angle bracket 56 suit- Conductors 51 are led from the generator through a flexible conduit 58 (Fig. 2) and up through a rigid conduit 59 for connection with the motor 14. As viewed in Fig. 1, there is provided a connection plug 60 connected in parallel with the conductors 51 so that power from an external source may be supplied to the motor l4 to operate the latter when the car is at rest or for the purpose of conveying away energy from the generator, when the car is in motion or when the car is at rest and some local driving agency is connected with the pulley 54.

A modified take-oil structure is shown in Fig. I6 and II are joined by a bight portion 65, and the inner ends of the arms are pivoted on a pin 66 secured in angle brackets 61 which are in turn mounted on the beam or bolster 68 which engages the truck. As a result 0! this arrangement, the entire take-off assembly is mounted on the beam instead of the bottom of the car. Moreover, the locking means for the operating lever 3| includes a. slotted bracket 36' having an arm 69 at its lower end suitably attached to the beam 88 instead of to the bottom of the car, as in the arrangement of Figs. 1 and 4. A riding spring 10 is secured at its upper end H to the cross brace 28 and at its opposite end I! to the beam 68.

A power take-off in the form of a friction wheel tively, are beveled as at iii and M, respectively, the purpose or this arrangement being to compensate for movement or the car wheel 2'! when the wheel trucks turn on curved track, this an rrangement afiording adequate contact surface on the irictionwheel Bill for 'firm driving e gagement' with fthe wheel 27 at all'tiznes and permitting, at the same time full freedom of movement of the car wheel and particularly the flange 21' thereof relative to the driven wheel at.

In the modified arrangement of Fig, 5, the energy translating or converting means is in the iorrn of a generator ss' suitably strapped to the bolster or beam EB and driving-1y connected by a flexible cable Jfihavingconneotion as at ll" with the spindle oi the driven friction wheel the cable 16 permitting free movement of the trunnion bracket toward and away from the car wheel. The flexible shaft or cable means 16, alone, or considered as cooperating with the generator may be said to constitute a driven means. It is contemplated that the driven means may in part, or in whole, be supported by the bracket structure l6ll, and that the power taken off by the driven means or flexible shaft 18 may be directly utilized instead of being converted from mechanical to electrical power as by the generator 55'.

In operation, the lower end of the stopping pin 40 is removed from the lowermost car 43, and the trainman grasps the handle 34 and shifts the lever 3| into one or the other of the slots 31 and 38. I! the lever handle is depressed in the long slot, the trunnion bracket arm l6-I'I will be raised against the tension of the spring 24 so as to disengage the friction wheel 50 from the car wheel 21, the lever being locked in this position by urging the same sidewlse into the shorter slot 31 in which it will be locked by the locking ably attached to the generator and to the arm I6. 45

action of the nose 39. In this condition, the converting means or generator 55 will, of course, be at rest and there will be no driving energy for the motor M, the fan l2 as a consequence likewise remaining at rest unless energy from an external source is connected to the plug 60 to feed power directly to the motor 14, or unless a driving belt is connected to the pulley 54 to turn the generator 55 over. By moving the handle 34 out of the slot 31 and raising it into the slot 38, the trunnion arms or bracket structure l6ll will be lowered, and the spring 24, in cooperation with the weight of the take-off assembly, will urge thefriction wheel 50 firmly against the car wheel, vibration and other reaction movements of the take-oil being compensated by the spring 24.

The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized by other forms of construction than that specifically detailed herein for purposes of illustration, and it is a condition of this disclosure that all modifications, rearrangements, and equivalent structures are to be included in the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a power take-oil mechanism for use with wheeled vehicles and o! the type including a support and means pivotally mounting the same on said vehicle adjacent a wheel thereof for to the axis of rotation of said wheel and substantially in alignment with said wheel, the combination of a friction drive wheel journaled on said support for rotation about an axis parallel to that of said wheel, a generator supportably attached to said support and drivingly connected with said friction drive wheel, and an auxiliary drive connection for said friction drive wheel accessible exteriorly of the" vehicle and adapted to be connected to an external source of power to drive said generator when the friction wheel is out of engagement with said vehicle wheel, and mechanism for pivoting the support toward and away from said vehicle wheel.

2. In a device of the class described, a trunnion arm structure including a pair of trunnion arms, a friction drive wheel Journaled on said arms, means for mounting said arms adjacent a driving wheel for pivotal movement toward and away from the latter to dispose said friction drive wheel into and out of driving engagement with said driving wheel, driven means supportably attached to said trunnion arm structure, an operating lever connected with said trunnion arm structure and arranged for movement in a plane parallel to the axis of said driving wheel and trunnion arms to pivot said structure toward and away from said driving wheel, a locking member arranged adjacent said lever and provided with slots offset in a direction laterally of the plane of pivotal movement of said lever and into which said lever may be moved in opposite directions to dispose said trunnion arm structure in a predetermined pivoted position.

3. In a device of the class described including a trunnion with structure, a friction drive wheel journaled on said structure, and the structure being adapted for mounting adjacent a driving wheel for pivotal movement toward and away from the latter to dispose said friction drive wheel into and out of driving engagement with said driving wheel and driven means support-,

ably attached to said trunnion arm structure, means for moving said trunnion arm structure relative to the driving wheel and comprising an operating lever connected with said trunnion arm structure and arranged for movement to pivot said structure toward and away from said driving wheel. a locking member arranged adjacent said lever and provided with slots oflset in a direction laterally of the plane of pivotal movement of said lever and into which said lever may be moved laterally in opposite directions to dispose said trunnion arm structure in a predetermined pivoted position, and means for preventing unauthorized manipulation of said lever and including a movable seal receiving member and means mounting the same on said locking member in a position to block lateral movement of the lever from one predetermined position to another.

4. In a device of the class described, a pivoted operating lever, a locking bracket having a main slot extending in the direction of pivotal movement of the lever and in which said lever works, said slot having a laterally offsetslot portion into which said lever may be moved by displacement in the direction of its pivotal axis, and a stopping pin and means removably mounting the same on said bracket in a position between said firstmentioned slot and the offset portion thereof to block movement of said lever from the main slot portion to the offset slot portion and vice versa.

5. In a device of the class described, a pivoted control lever, a bracket having a main slot in which said lever is movable in opposite directions, said main slot having a laterally offset portion intov which said lever may be shifted by movement in a direction laterally of its plane of pivotal movement, pin mounting ears on said bracket and provided with aligned openings into which a headed stopping pin in inserted with its free end portion extending beyond one of said ears and the shank of said pin lying in a position between said main and oflset slot portions to block lateral movement of said lever from one to the other thereof.

6. In a device of the class described, a pivoted control lever, a bracket having a main slot in which said lever is movable in opposite directions, said main slot having a laterally ofiset portion into which said lever may be shifted by movement in a direction laterally of its plane of pivotal movement, pin mounting ears on said bracket and provided with aligned openings into which a headed stopping pin is inserted with its free end portion extending beyond one of said ears and the shank of said pin lying in a position between said main and oflset slot portions to block lateral movement of said lever from one to the other thereof, said stopping pin being free to move so as to be ineffective when said free end portion thereof is withdrawn from the corresponding ear, whereby topermit relatively lateral movement of said lever, said free end portion of the stopping pin being provided with means arranged to receive a seal when said pin is in blocking position, whereby to prevent unauthorized withdrawal of said free end portion of the pin from the corresponding ear.

7. In a device of the class described, power take-oi! mechanism comprising a trunnion structure including a pair of trunnion arms, a friction drive wheel journaled between said arms near one end thereof, means providing a pivotal mounting for said arms adjacent the'opposite ends thereof and including parts for attachment to a support, and spring means coacting with said last-mentioned parts and said pivotal mounting of the trunnion arms to urge the latter in a particular direction, lever means for pivoting said trunnion arms in either direction, and rotatably driven means supportably attached to one of the arms of said trunnion structure and aligned coaxialiy with said drive wheel and operatively coupled therewith.

8. In a power take-oi! for rolling stock, a trunnion bracket including opposite arms and means engaging the same near one end thereof and supporting the arms for pivotal movement toward and awayfrom a wheel of said rolling stock and about an axis parallel to the axis of said wheel, a drive wheel journaled between said arms to rotate about an axis parallel to that of said pivotal mounting and said first-mentioned wheel, a generator mounted on one of said arms with a drive shaft aligned coaxially with and coupled with said drive wheel, and an auxiliary drive wheel aligned coaxially with and drivingly connected with said drive wheel on the opposite side of the remaining arm of the bracket from the drive wheel, together with means for rocking said bracket to move said drive wheel into and out of driving engagement with said first-mentioned wheel and including a lever mounted to pivot about an axis at right angles to that of laid bracket and connected thereto to rock the same when the lever is rocked, and means for securing the lever in different positions.

cm L. ROOM. 

